Scum

I'm thankful that the kids like playing together. Also glad they have discovered Scum, and find it an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Scum makes me very nostalgic for the college years and hanging out with the Golds. Bonus: Star Wars Angry Birds cards.

Just Afton

I wanted to take some photos of Afton on this cool cement bench. On the drive there she was full of deep questions, "When we die will we still look like us?" We had to park a little further away than I thought, but she assured me she was fine to walk a little, "Because I'm not even carrying anything." I wanted her to have fun and not feel like it was a chore, so I told her to just do whatever she wanted. She spent at least 20 minutes steadily dancing all over the place and softly singing to herself, glancing my way on occasion. Afterward we hit a playground on the way back to the van, then came home and played a rousing game of Sorry. She won and I didn't even let her. We miss the big kids at school, but it's fun to hang out alone together too.

First day of school 2013

Boo. Sad to see them go. I'm all for, you know, "education" and "learning" and "becoming contributing members of society" and such. But I'm still a big fan of "playing all day" and "vacation" and "having help unloading the dishwasher" and other activities better suited for summer.

The first day of middle school Ben came home all smiles. Changing classes, getting lockers--loved it! The second day he still thought it was pretty cool. The third day he finally realized it's just going to be more work. Ha! Poor kid. Next year will be Emma's first year of high school (slow down already!) and Afton will be in kindergarten. Not sure how I feel about all that.

One more summer catch-all post...

Swim Team end-of-season party: check.

Staying late to see the fireworks at Dollywood: check.

Multiple documenting of harvests: check.

Helping a friend break into their house then all climbing in through the window: check.

 Cooling off on a hot day with a bucket: check.

Twin Arches Hike

We like hiking. It's funny, because Scott and I rarely-to-never went hiking in our early years, which is a real shame since we lived in Utah and were surrounded by tons of beautiful places we could have gone, with even more beautiful places just a few hours drive to our south. But all told we probably gave it a go two or three times.

Then somehow a few years back, gathering up all the kids and hitting the road for a day trip hiking became a thing. Last year our big road trip contained four hikes on all its own. Now our tradition it to find at least one new hike to do each year.

This year it was Twin Arches. This is a hike Emma and I have done part of a couple of times at Girls' Camp, but no one else. The drive to get there was trying, let's just say we arrived at the trailhead with a different battery and alternator wire than we left home with. But once we arrived all went well.

The kids loved climbing on boulders, descending the super-steep steps and arriving at the picturesque arches. They especially liked walking on top of arch #1 and going through the little cave behind arch #2. After enjoying the arches, we felt adventurous and set out on the six-mile loop so Ben could pass off a scouting requirement. The length was a challenge for the little girls, but they made it with only minimal piggy back rides. The gnats were a challenge for us all, but we made it with only minimal nose, ear and eyeball invasions by our little friends. Overall it was a great day, we'd do it again.

Scott's figured out how to use his phone's panorama option. Cool!